Banks’s Red River Expeditionary Force [US]; District of West Louisiana (two divisions) [CS]

Estimated Casualties:

4,400 total (US 2,900; CS 1,500)

Description:

By this time, Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Bank’s Red River Expedition had advanced about 150 miles up
Red River. Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor, without any instructions from his commander, Gen. E. Kirby Smith, decided
that it was time to try and stem this Union drive. He established a defensive position just below Mansfield, near
Sabine Cross-Roads, an important communications center. On April 8, Banks’s men approached, driving
Confederate cavalry before them. For the rest of the morning, the Federals probed the Rebel lines. In late afternoon,
Taylor, though outnumbered, decided to attack. His men made a determined assault on both flanks, rolling up one
and then another of Banks’s divisions. Finally, about three miles from the original contact, a third Union division met
Taylor’s attack at 6:00 pm and halted it after more than an hour's fighting. That night, Taylor unsuccessfully
attempted to turn Banks’s right flank. Banks withdrew but met Taylor again on the 9th at Pleasant Hill. Mansfield
was the decisive battle of the Red River Campaign, influencing Banks to retreat back toward Alexandria.

Results:

Confederate victory

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